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The Frescoes in the Great Cloister

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The Frescoes in the Great Cloister The frescoes in the Great Cloister Cosimo I de’ Medici, who took over the patronage of Santa Maria Novella in 1565, decided to have the Great Cloister decorated and involved numerous other Florentine families attached to the convent and individual Dominicans in to the task. Some of the lunettes were commissioned by members of the Spanish colony that came to Florence in the wake of Duchess Eleonora of Toledo. They had been meeting in Santa Maria Novella’s Chapter House for 21 28 31 some time, so it became known as the Spanish Chapel. More than fifteen painters, members of the Florentine Academy, were recruited for this huge undertaking on the strength of their previous experience in similar projects. They included Alessandro Allori, Santi di Tito, Bernardino Poccetti, Giovanni Maria Butteri, Cosimo Gamberucci, Ludovico Cardi known as Cigoli and Alessandro Fei known as Il Barbiere. The frescoes were painted chiefly between 1570 and 1590, apart from a small number of scenes which were completed in the 17th and 18th centuries. The cycle, comprising fifty–two lunettes, is considered to be one of the most representative examples of Counter–Reformation painting in view of the breadth, iconographic programme and didactic clarity of the stories depicted. It focuses on the Life of St. Dominic in the first two cloister walks and on the Lives of other Dominican saints in the other two walks. A scroll over each scene describes the episode depicted. The lunettes in the cloister’s four corner bays depict scenes from the Life of Christ, which open and close the narrative sequence in each walk. The grotesque decoration in the bays’ vaults, the only frescoed vaults in the cloister, includes Episodes from the Gospels. The wall spaces between each scene are adorned with Portraits of Illustrious Members of the Dominican Order associated with the great cloister , south walk convent of Santa Maria Novella. 11 The narrative begins in the bay with the Birth of Christ (1) in the south–west corner and proceeds clockwise along the west, north, east and south cloister walks. south West walk 44 45 46 This walk, which opens significantly with the Preaching of Jesus and the Mission of the Twelve Apostles (2), is adorned with Stories from the Life of St. Dominic Guzmán, founder of the Order of Preachers (c. 1170–1221), starting with his 47 48 49 50 51 52 1 birth (3). The first few episodes depict the saint’s charity (4), his struggle against heresy (5–7) and his ability to work 2 miracles (8). The central scenes illustrate the Catholic Church’s approval of his work, from the scene in which the pope start here 43 has a vision of Dominic holding up the Basilica of St. John Lateran (9), to Dominic’s meeting with St. Francis, founder 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 of the Order of the Friars Minor (10), and to Pope Honorius III’s confirmation of the Dominican Order (11). The order’s mission to spread the word of God is symbolised by the Apostles Peter and Paul giving Dominic a pilgrim’s book and staff 42 (12). The final scenes deal chiefly with the saint’s miracles, raising people from the dead (13–15) and other miraculous events (16-18). The walk ends with the Gospel episode of the Washing of the Feet (19). 41 North walk 40 This walk, which opens with Christ Before Pilate over a door with St. Mary Magdalen on one side and St. Martha on the other (20), is adorned with frescoes continuing and completing the Life of St. Dominic. The scenes depict miracles within the saint’s community (21–22), penance as one of his methods of prayer (23) and his struggle with the demon 39 (24–25). This is followed by the donation of the church of Santa Maria Novella in 1221 to the Blessed Giovanni da Salerno, whom Dominic sent with twelve other friars to restore orthodox Catholicism in Florence, where the Cathar heresy was 38 rapidly taking root (26). The final scenes show Dominic’s last hours (27), his death (28), his ascent into heaven (29) and his funeral (30). The onlookers in the scene showing the Death of St. Dominic (28) include a profile portrait, under the Crucifix on the far right, of Dominican Friar Girolamo Savonarola, who had been burnt at the stake on a charge of 10 west heresy in 1498. The walk ends with the Deposition (31), the only lunette on which Alessandro Allori is known to have 37 worked, the sources indicating that he painted the body of Jesus and the faces of Mary and John, working alongside the 11 painter Giovan Maria Butteri. east East walk 12 entrance This walk, which opens with Christ’s Descent into Limbo (32), contains Stories from the Lives of Dominican Saints, starting with St. Peter Martyr (c. 1205–52) (33–35) who was in Florence in 1244, his sermon on the struggle against 13 heresy ending in the fight shown in one of the frescoes, depicted in a corner of the city (34). This is followed by St. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–74) (36–39), a philosopher and the most important Scholastic theologian, portrayed here 14 as the author of the Office of Corpus Christi (38), a rite whose celebration in Florence was welcomed and encouraged 35 36 precisely by the friars of Santa Maria Novella. In the centre, the architrave over the doorway carries a mid-14th century 15 carving depicting the Adoration of the Magi. The door led into the Chapel of the Magi, founded by the Ubriachi family and 16 later used as the Second Chapter House. The final scenes illustrate episodes from the life of St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419), 34 a healer and preacher of the Apocalypse (40–42). The walk ends with Christ appearing to St. Mary Magdalen Dressed as a Gardener (43). 17 South walk 18 This walk, which opens with a doorway with portraits of Ferdinando I and Francesco I de’ Medici as the Prophets David and 33 Isaiah on either side, completes the stories from the life of St. Vincent Ferrer (45) and continues with stories from the 19 lives of other Dominican saints. Five scenes tell the story of St. Antonino Pierozzi (1389–1459), illustrating the salient 32 moments of his life starting with his entry into Florence as archbishop (46–50). This is followed by the scene in which St. Catherine of Siena (1347–80) Uses Prayer to Convert Two Convicts Awaiting Execution (51), an emblematic episode 31 21 of the role of saints as intercessors. Further along we encounter the door of the convent’s erstwhile pharmacy, now the 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 20 Officina Profumo–Farmaceutica, with an elegant staircase designed by Matteo Nigetti (c. 1630) in the shape of a shell, flanked by two plaques recalling the friars’ pharmaceutical work and a number of privileges granted by the grand duke. The final lunette in the cycle, depicting St. Rosa of Lima (1586–1617) Carrying the Cross (52), was commissioned by north the Officina Farmaceutica in honour of this Peruvian saint, canonised in 1671, whom the Officina had chosen for its new patron. The walk ends with the Birth of Christ (1), the first scene in the cycle’s narrative sequence..
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